Ram Raid Prevention: Raids Are Falling — But Only for Businesses Who Did This

Ram raid prevention works — and the latest RNZ reporting backs it up. Incidents peaked in August 2022 with 86 in a single month, but have since dropped to around nine per month in 2025 — back to pre-pandemic levels.

You can read the full article here:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/569750/effective-policing-or-fading-social-media-trend-the-rise-and-fall-of-ram-raids

Ram raid trends in NZ: what the RNZ report means

RNZ notes offence data peaked in August 2022 and has steadily declined since. The incidents were identified from police reports using text searches (e.g., “ram raid”), with 2025 averaging nine per month — similar to pre-pandemic levels.

Why the decline? Ram raid prevention made it harder

Online behaviour experts quoted by RNZ describe a rise-and-fall pattern driven by social media novelty — but one that fades faster when sites deploy visible deterrents like bollards and fog cannons.

“After something has been cool for a bit — it doesn’t stay being cool for long… There were dairies putting up bollards… It became much, much harder.” — Prof. Ekant Veer (via RNZ)

A store owner’s view: peace of mind after bollards

Kapiti owner Bhavesh Morar, one of nearly a thousand businesses using a grant to add bollards, cameras and fog cannons, told RNZ:

“After we installed the bollards you can sleep a lot better — knowing that you’ve got the preventative measures in place.”

That’s the point: physical security works. When doors and windows are protected by security grilles and fixed ram beams, smash-and-grab becomes slow, noisy and high-risk — most offenders move on.

Police strategy helps — barriers stop the attempt

Assistant Police Commissioner Mike Johnson told RNZ police used “a range of strategies,” including hotspot deployments and the Fast Track programme with Oranga Tamariki to address persistent youth offenders within 24–48 hours.

Those responses work best when the attempt is blocked at the frontage. Layered ram raid prevention looks like this:

• Bollards: stop vehicle entry and protect glazing and doorways.
• Security grilles: reinforce openings without blocking visibility.
• Fixed ram beams  and  steel doors: add structural resistance at high-risk points.

Ram raid prevention standards and install tips

For effective ram raid prevention, spacing and footing depth matter. Place bollards to block vehicle approach to glazing and main doors, and sink footings to engineer’s specifications for your substrate. Pair visible deterrents with locking hardware and security grilles to create a layered barrier. Insurers increasingly favour compliant installations because strong physical security lowers claim frequency and severity.

What businesses should do next

1. Have Xpanda assess your frontage: glass, door hardware, vehicle approach paths.
2. Layer defences: combine bollards, grilles and fixed ram beams.
3. Stay consistent: trends fluctuate; keep deterrents in place so you remain a hard target.

Protect your business now.
Talk to the Xpanda team about proven, NZ-made ram raid prevention — bollards, security grilles and fixed ram beams that stop criminals in their tracks and help you sleep better at night.